The present invention relates to surgical appliances and, in particular, to surgical gloves designed to resist penetration by sharp needles or instruments.
The conventional surgical glove is composed of extremely thin latex or synthetic rubber designed to fit tightly and closely over the surgeon's hand, thereby providing a maximum of tactile sensitivity and ease of manipulation of the thumb and fingers. The glove serves as a protective shield to prevent the passage of contamination either from the hands of the surgeon to the patient or from the wound of the patient to the surgeon. While the thickness of surgical gloves may vary from one type or manufacture to another, the orthopedic surgeon's glove being composed of thicker latex, all are susceptible to puncture or rupture during the course of an operation.
In those cases where the surgeon is particularly concerned with glove puncture, he may employ the practice of double gloving; i.e., the wearing of two pairs of gloves. The protection afforded by this practice is, however, of minimum value providing, at most, only twice the protection of a single glove.
While attempts at solving the problems of rupture and penetration have included double dipping in liquid latex to increase the thickness of the glove, such attempts specifically proposing an increase in the thickness of the thumb and forefinger portions of the glove, the problem persists.
The present invention is directed to an improved surgical glove that is a combination of latex rubber and a thin, pliable and limp overlay of material composed of tightly interlaced fibers of filaments of high strength adhesively attached or bonded to the palmar or front face of the glove. The improved glove provides an appreciable improvement in the resistance to rupture and penetration, such as caused by sharp instruments, while retaining, to a large extent, the feel and tactile sensitivity of the conventional surgical glove.
Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved penetration-resistant surgical glove.
Another object of the invention is to provide a thin and pliable surgical glove reenforced in the palmar or front surface area with a tightly interwoven, penetration-resistant material to minimize the risks of puncture or rupture.
A further object is to provide a thin, pliable and lightweight reenforced surgical glove having a touch and feel similar to that of conventional latex surgical gloves.
An additional object is to provide a surgical glove providing increased protection to both physician and patient from exposure to contamination.
Still another object is to provide a surgical glove designed to reveal, upon visual inspection, that a rupture or penetration has occurred.
The above objects of and the brief introduction to the present invention will be more fully understood, and further objects and advantages will become apparent, from a study of the following detailed description in connection with the drawings.